Syria-Russia arms deals to continue

SYRIA

Published 4:00 am, Friday, February 3, 2012

An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube allegedly shows Syrian security forces beating up a man upon his arrest in Mothamiyat al-Sham near Damascus on February 2, 2012.

An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube allegedly shows Syrian security forces beating up a man upon his arrest in Mothamiyat al-Sham near Damascus on February 2, 2012.

Photo: -, AFP/Getty Images

Syria-Russia arms deals to continue

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Beirut --

Russia said Thursday it will keep selling arms to longtime ally Syria, despite mounting international condemnation over the Syrian regime's bloody crackdown on a 10-month-old uprising.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said his country is not violating any international obligations by selling weapons to Damascus.

"As of today, there are no restrictions on our delivery of weapons," he told journalists in Russia, according to the country's state news agencies. "We must fulfill our obligations, and this is what we are doing."

Moscow has been one of Syria's most powerful allies - along with Iran - as regime forces try to crush the revolt against President Bashar Assad. The United Nations estimates that more than 5,400 people have been killed in the government crackdown.

Moscow's stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. But Russia also rejects what it sees as a world order dominated by the United States. Last month, Russia reportedly signed a $550 million deal to sell combat jets to Syria.

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U.N. ambassadors this week are trying to overcome Russia's opposition to a draft resolution at the Security Council designed to stop the bloodshed. Moscow said it would veto the original version because it believes it would open the way for eventual international military action.

In an apparent effort to overcome Russian objections, the new version no longer includes the explicit reference to the president delegating his powers. It also removes the calls for a new national unity government, and for transparent, free elections.

"I found him relaxed and sure. He is confident in the Russian position," Wahhab told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar in an interview published Thursday.

Also Thursday, Syrian security forces fanned out in Hama as protesters splashed red paint symbolizing blood in the streets to mark the 30th anniversary of a notorious massacre carried out by Hafez Assad, Bashar's father and predecessor.

The Hama massacre of 1982, which leveled entire neighborhoods and killed thousands of people, has become a rallying cry for the Syrian uprising that began nearly 11 months ago in the hopes of ending four decades of Assad family rule.

Hafez Assad ordered the scorched-earth assault on Hama 30 years ago to put down an uprising against his rule. Amnesty International has said 10,000 to 25,000 people were killed, though conflicting figures exist, and the Syrian government has never made an official estimate.